Monthly Archives: October 2012

Collier County Sheriff’s Office As the end of October approaches, Collier County children prepare to dress up as their favorite characters and walk their neighborhoods on Halloween looking to score a bag full of candy. While this is a favorite past-time for families, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office wants to help parents make sure their children trick-or-treat safely by providing the following tips: Make sure children are dressed safely * Allow them to wear only flame-retardant costumes. * Keep costumes short to prevent falls. * Use make-up instead of masks when possible. Masks can obstruct vision. * Wear light colors ... Read More »

Marco Presbyterian Church will install their new associate pastor the Rev. Jan Werson at the 10:30 a.m., Oct. 28 worship service. Werson a former navel flight officer and flight instructor has 27 years in the ministry including 12 as a navy chaplain. He has a master’s of divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi and has served churches from California to Florida. He most recently served Cross Creek Church in St. Johns, Florida. On April 29 the congregation unanimously elected Werson to be the church’s new associate pastor. He has a passion to fulfill the Great Commission through local and ... Read More »

Attached you will find an Ethics complaint filed by Bob and Mary Brown (Joy Circle), outspoken supporters of my opponents who are seeking election to City Council. While I harbor no animosity towards anyone who makes such frivolous and reckless allegations against me in my capacity as a public official, I do want to correct their erroneous conclusions. It is my hope that in the future they will exercise more ‘due diligence’ before casting stones at anyone. As the facts and documentation will establish, on October 8, late at night (11:27 pm), I wrote a very positive letter about our ... Read More »

As the City Council election comes to a close, I want to thank my fellow citizens for the tremendous level of support and encouragement I’ve encountered all over the Island. I’ve truly enjoyed the process of running for office. I’ve met over 2,800 people by knocking on doors up and down the residential streets, listening to your concerns and talking about my positions. Early in the campaign, I set out to meet with City officials, prior and current Council members, and participants and leaders of civic organizations – including informal groups of concerned citizens. The range of ideas, opinions and ... Read More »

The City of Marco Island and Police Officer Ed d’Alessandro have resolved the grievance filed by D’Alessandro contesting his termination from the Marco Island Police Department on October 7, 2011. The grievance was filed pursuant to the Florida Police Benevolent Association/City of Marco Island Collective Bargaining Agreement. Officer D’Alessandro was found guilty in Collier County Traffic Court of careless operation of a motor vehicle. It was determined after an internal investigation by the Marco Island Police Department that d’Alessandro had also violated numerous police department policies and police practices. Evidence established that his careless actions contributed to a vehicle crash ... Read More »

Friends, can’t we get to a little straightening up and cleaning up of our nation’s house? Can’t we pretend that “company is coming” and spruce up somewhat? Do we really want ourselves and others seeing our national home so careless that: • one third of America’s children live in poverty? • our educational system ranks 31st in math & 23rd in science in the world of industrial and developing nations? • our present medical delivery system is the costliest in world? • our best scientific brains inform us of ecological facts that are denied by many as evil distortions? • ... Read More »

OPEN LETTER TO CONDO OWNERS TO QUESTIONS FOR CONDO OWNERS Don’t let scare tactics divert your attention from the important issues; Do we want a convention center that will bring a multitude of tractor trailers up and down Collier Boulevard disrupting our quality of life and disrupt traffic? Do we want a shuttle service from Veterans Park and Mackle Park which will bring thousands of day trippers to our beaches? Do we want a 40,000 square foot Mackle Park which will add to our Debt? Do we want CRA Midtown density which we thought was cancelled and is now back? THE ... Read More »

The SCARY FACTS I am writing this letter in response to several recent letters regarding the upcoming City Council elections. Several letter writers have indicated that no one can predict what the slate of Ken Honecker, Amadeo Petricca & Larry Sacher will do if elected to the city council but if past behavior is any indication of future behavior than the facts, the very scary facts speak for themselves, on who will fairly represent ALL of the property and business owners of Marco Island. The facts are that Ken Honecker and Amadeo Petricca both served on the Utility Advisory Board ... Read More »

On the southwest coast of Florida, a bloom of the Florida Red Tide organism, Karenia brevis, continues alongshore in medium to low concentration levels. The bloom originated early last week off Tampa Bay. Now, the Red Tide organism has been found to be present in various concentrations along the Collier County beaches. Recent satellite imagery was partially obscured by cloud cover alongshore; but some patches of elevated to very high chlorophyll were visible extending as far as southern Collier. Winds will be mostly from the south with a slight westerly shift on Friday, which may increase the chances for impacts, such ... Read More »

By Danielle Dodder Marco Island currently has approximately 200 miles of seawall. They perform the key functions of preventing land loss and keeping channels navigable, but many of them are reaching the end of a 30 year lifespan. On average, a concrete seawall costs $300 per foot. One million and fifty-six feet of Marco seawall translates into about $316,800,000, a potentially huge source of revenue for business and a large cost investment for the 8,000 or so homeowners now on waterfront property. A newly- passed city ordinance is forcing the seawall industry to re-evaluate how it does business, and how ... Read More »

SPEAKING OF TRAVEL Vickie Kelber vickieonmarco@gmail.com Summer and early fall in Park City, Utah were marred by countless days of smoke filling the atmosphere, obscuring the normally bluebird skies and bright foliage. Fortunately, it was all smoke and not too much fire. There were two nearby small fires, one caused possibly by sparks from a truck traveling down the highway and another by someone shooting at metal targets. The west is dry, drier than we in southwest Florida can really imagine, even during our driest months. Tinderbox dry brush is easy prey to a spark, lightening, or inane acts such as ... Read More »

By Danielle Dodder The Marco Island Police Department recently completed a study of accident trends from 2008 to 2011 and found incidents involving cars and bicycles, or pedestrians, has increased 50%. “We need to share the limited amount of space we have and do it properly so we don’t injure each other…when we see this increasing trend [of accidents] we need to ask ourselves, why?” Assistant Chief Dave Baer said that the department is teaming up with the city Bike Paths Committee and the Knights of Columbus to improve bike safety awareness on the island. Ben Farnsworth is the current ... Read More »

By Danielle Dodder Since 2006, Fire Captain Tom Bogan has been steadily pursuing the acquisition of a fire-rescue boat for the Marco department. With a price tag just under 400 thousand dollars, it’s been a long, slow asking process, but 2012 has arguably been the year to sadly justify his persistence. “We used to commandeer regular boats [to respond to an emergency].” Bogan explains the ‘evolution’ of the departments’ offshore emergency services. Today they respond to accidents and fires on the water with a Pathfinder, a recreational boat whose emergency performance in recent disasters proved to be an epic fail. ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Within the 2012 General Election Ballot which is six pages, you’ll see the races most individuals are interested in casting their vote for: President, Vice-President, Senate, Congress, and County Commissioner. In addition to those races, numerous judges are included, as is the office of Sheriff. The nine candidates vying for four Marco Island City Council seats are listed. Even a seat on the Collier Mosquito Control is open to vote on. A question on whether the Collier County School District should reduce the capital millage and increase the operating millage by .25 mills for another ... Read More »

Donna Fiala donnafiala@colliergov.net Not many of you know that I conduct tours every year of county facilities. We’ve seen places like the landfill, a waste water treatment plant, a water treatment plant, the Jail, Museums, Botanical Garden, the Emergency Operations Center, etc. Well, I’m beginning to plan for this year’s tours and wondered if anyone on Marco would be interested in going. In the past I’ve had a few Marco Islanders join me, so just maybe this year I’ll again have some people interested in learning a little about the inner workings of the county. I am now asking ... Read More »

By Monte Lazarus Bengoshi@comcast.net Halloween is the strangest of all our holidays. For one thing it apparently originated as some sort of Pagan ritual. No, it did not involve a bunch of folks in animal skins munching on turnips (Americans invented pumpkin pie of course). Rather, the worship of the sun, moon, Manchester United Football (that’s European for soccer) Team, or the particular God or Goddess in vogue at the time. I suspect that on a chilly day in October (by our calendar) some early Brits of a Druid or comparable persuasion hoisted a few and then thought it would ... Read More »

BEYOND THE COAST Tarik Ayasun turk1949@comcast.net When the last US troops left Iraq, Al-Qaida terrorists were believed to have around 1,000 fighters remaining in the area. The last intelligence estimates clearly indicate that there are now more than 2,500 fighters; and various new terrorist training camps have opened all around the desert areas of Iraq and the numbers of these terrorists are growing daily. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is re-organizing and getting ready to take over as soon as our combat troops leave sometime during 2014. We will be leaving approximately 30,000 Special Forces and other military personnel behind, however it ... Read More »

By Carol Glassman The Marco Island Code Enforcement Board met on Tuesday, October 9, to discuss mitigation of fines on several properties, and to discuss a stop-work order on at 531 Bald Eagle Drive,(formerly Glass of Marco). Realtor Allen Duquet spoke on behalf of his client, Mr. Tran, who owns this commercial property. At the suggestion of Duquet, Tran had employed contractor John Miles of Collier Custom Building to clean and paint the property’s interior, and remodel it without a permit, to prepare it for sale. Miles, who was not present, had apparently informed both Duquet and Tran that a ... Read More »

By Coastal Breeze News Staff Forging a new path in the Naples/Marco Island, Everglades City area is Rashmi Sharma, M.D. She is an Endovascular/ Vascular Surgeon, the only female vascular surgeon in the area. Dr. Sharma joined Physicians Regional Medical Group and moved to this area in April. “I am a beach lover, and had vacationed here. I fell in love with the lifestyle of the area. The restaurants, the shops and of course, the beach,” said Dr. Sharma. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Moorhead University in Minnesota, she received medical school degrees at the University of North Dakota. ... Read More »

By Natalie Strom natalie@coastalbreezenews.com The Marco Island Historical Society Re-enactors are taking on a new role. Beginning this November, the program is being expanded to offer historical tours of Marco Island. Sponsored by the Re-enactors, proceeds from the tours will go towards the Marco Island Historical Society. Fun and entertaining for both individuals or groups, all tours begin at the Marco Island Historical Museum. “Every tour starts out with a short viewing of the University of Florida film, ‘Domain of the Calusa,’” explains Betsy Perdichizzi, founder of the MIHS Re-enactors and well-known for her portrayal of Tommie Barfield. “Then we ... Read More »